It's a pretty good bet that when players from
New Orleans powerhouse St. Augustine High School were breaking off long
gainers, blowing past dazed defensive backs and running down receivers at the
Tulane football camp in the '90s, Tulane head coach Buddy Teevens was watching
intently.

Check out the St. Augustine Wikipedia page and
you'll see why. The site lists no fewer than 19 former Purple Knights who went
on to play in the NFL, including former New England Patriots running back
BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Tyrann Matheiu, the "Honey Badger," is another
well-known product of St. Aug, which had no fewer than 14 players accept
football scholarships a couple of years ago.

One of the Tulane campers from St. Augustine
when Teevens was coaching in the Big Easy was a kid named Cortez Hankton.
Although he was a good enough student to get recruiting letters from Brown and
Columbia as a high school senior, the young receiver wasn't high on Tulane's
radar. And Teevens, who was offensive coordinator and receivers coach for the
Illini by the time Hankton started hearing from recruiters, never called.

Overlooked by BCS programs, Hankton headed 450
miles to Texas Southern, one of the Historically Black Colleges and
Universities (HCBUs) in Houston. There he would go on to be a four-year
starter, a two-year captain, the school record-holder for season and career
receiving yards, and a third-team, Division I-AA All-America.

But the NFL, like big-time football schools four
years earlier, did not come calling for the 6-foot, 200-pound receiver who set
a record with a 99-yard touchdown reception in college.

Undrafted out of Texas Southern, Hankton signed
with the Jacksonville Jaguars and went on to catch 17 passes as a rookie. A
year later he saw himself on SportsCenter after he hauled in a 14-yard fade
from Byron Leftwich with 45 seconds left to give the Jags a 22-16 win over the
Kansas City Chiefs.

He went on to play four years for the Jags,
signed with the Minnesota Vikings in '07, and then spent the '08 season on
injured reserve with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Released in the final round of cuts by the Bucs
in '09 - too late in the process to catch on with another NFL team - he instead
signed with the New York Sentinels of the United Football League. He was
nominated for the UFL Offensive Player of the Year the next season as a member
of the Florida Tuskers and celebrated a championship with the team a year later
when the Tuskers played as the Virginia Destroyers.

It was while playing his final season of pro
ball that Hankton, who spent one season as a volunteer receivers coach at a
high school in Orlando, Fla., was surprised to find himself catching the
coaching bug while playing for head coach Marty
Schottenheimer and coordinator Terry Shea.

"Before the championship game with the
Destroyers I talked to Schottenheimer and Shea, who were big-time coaches," he
said. "They were always asking me, 'Do you want to get into coaching?' I had
just started considering it. Before that I said I would never do it. Coaches
put in too much time. They are in the office too much.

"What I started to realize is they find a way to
have time for their families. They have an opportunity to do something that
they love. So before my last game the decision was made. I started working the
next day on my package and my resume to get ready to approach the coaching
profession."

For as accomplished as he was on the field, and
for as bright and personable as he is face to face, Hankton didn't find doors
swinging open for him. And so he did what he could do to help his chances,
working as a volunteer assistant for player personnel at the University of
Central Florida, evaluating and breaking down film of potential recruits among
other responsibilities.

Hankton's big break came courtesy of fellow
Texas Southern grad James Jones, the former Dartmouth defensive line coach now
at the University of Northern Colorado.

"I was really getting frustrated because I
wasn't even getting opportunities to interview for jobs," Hankton recalled.
"That was hard for me. I felt if I could just get in front of somebody they
would really appreciate my knowledge of the game, the way that I present and
can articulate the game to players.

"James knew they were looking for somebody here
and that I wanted to get into coaching. When he called and asked me if I'd be
interested I said, 'Without question.'"

Dartmouth needed a replacement for Jarrail
Jackson, whose departure for Washington State cost the Big Green not just its
wide receivers coach but also a huge recruiting presence in Oklahoma and Texas.
Although Hankton didn't have any real coaching experience, Teevens was
intrigued enough by what he learned to offer him an interview. And Hankton, who
always believed he would win the day if he could just get in front of a head
coach, proved he was right.

"I got a good read on him from my friends in New
Orleans," said Teevens. "I was very impressed when he came up. The thing that
I've been excited about is his ability to communicate. I saw that when I met
with him.

"He is always prepared. He has a good mind for
the game. Obviously, he's a guy who played five or six years in the NFL so he
has seen just about everything. I knew he'd be a very good recruiter because of
his work ethic. People in New Orleans and Texas know about him and there's
going to be an attraction because young men Google coaches."

He certainly gets a vote of confidence from
Kirby Schoenthaler, Dartmouth's top receiver a year ago. "He played pro
football for six years or so, so he knows the game," Schoenthaler said. "He's
incorporated some new stuff with tennis balls and soccer balls to teach us.
I've enjoyed playing for him and learning from him."

And Hankton has enjoyed every bit of his college
experience, right down to helping clear equipment off the field at the end of
practice.

"My parents instilled in me to always show
appreciation to people for the things they do for you and I don't think I've
stopped thanking Coach Teevens for this opportunity yet," he said. "I'll always
be grateful."

So grateful, in fact, that when he got a call
about playing again in the UFL just days before Dartmouth camp was to begin he
said thanks, but no thanks. He'd rather keep learning the ropes from the
veteran coaches around him while working with the Big Green's deep and talented
group of receivers.

"I have a good group of guys that are really
competing for playing time on Saturdays," he said. "We have 20 receivers and it
is hard to pick my top six right now. They bought into the philosophy of being
accountable, having a good attitude and having the right approach every single
day."

Which pretty much describes the kid from St. Aug
who ended up not at Tulane or Illinois or at Florida, but instead found success
at an FCS school in Texas.

"Coach T didn't recruit me then," Hankton said.
"I have to give him a hard time about that now. But everything happens for a
reason."

Teevens might have overlooked Hankton 15 or so
years ago, but he's confident that he came away with a treasure when he finally
did reel him in, even if he is a rookie coach.

"People say it's taking a risk," the head coach
said, "but I've got a gold mine in terms of what he's bringing to us."

A
veteran writer and observer of Dartmouth athletics, Bruce Wood launched a web site in 2005, www.biggreenalert.com,
specializing in Big Green football news coverage.